Taylor Swift is, undeniably, one of the most influential artists of the 21st century. She is incredibly popular among various audiences thanks to her lyrical prowess and authenticity. This fame is reflected on Spotify, where she often claims a top 10 spot as one of the site’s most popular artists, and where she currently racks up 14 songs with over 1 billion streams.

Of these 14 songs, only five of her 11 studio albums are represented, along with one featured single off of a movie soundtrack. One album rules above all with four tracks over 1 billion streams, while two of the five albums boast three tracks on the coveted list. With two re-recordings remaining (Taylor Swift and reputation) and the consistency of her fans, this list is sure to grow.

14. I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (ft. ZAYN)

Fifty Shades Darker Soundtrack (2017)

Released as part of the star-studded Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack in 2017, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” is a grandly sensual track featuring Zayn Malik of One Direction. Malik pulls listeners into the track from the first verse through the first chorus, with Swift bringing out her breathy falsetto on the second verse until the track bursts through the final chorus with a call-and-response style, showing off their impressive vocals.

This song is a treat for anyone at the intersection between Swifties and Directioners. Their voices shine in the falsetto notes of the pre-choruses and at the edge of the verses. While this is one of the best Taylor Swift songs written for a movie, it doesn’t feel right to rank “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” above any of Swift’s solo tracks that make up this list. Her contributions to soundtracks like Fifty Shades Darker and Where the Crawdads Sing are incredible on their own and within the landscape of the films, but they just can’t compare to the excellence that is to follow.

13. Shake It Off

1989 (2014)

1989 is an album filled with well-known singles. “Shake It Off” was the first, released just over two months before the album, and it’s an energetic track about letting negativity fall right off your shoulders. Swift uses this track as a way to directly call out those who comment excessively on her dating life, proving to them that if they just listened to her music instead, maybe they wouldn’t feel the need to be so negative all the time.

“I go on too many dates

But I can’t make ’em stay

At least that’s what people say, mm-mm,

That’s what people say, mm-mm”

With 1989 having such stronger singles than this, it’s difficult to justify ranking “Shake It Off” any higher. It’s a fun, carefree track that makes you feel good, and sometimes that’s all you need from a song. Of course, it has its deeper meanings when you think about the way the press and everyday people alike pick apart her every move, but it doesn’t invite such introspection on the surface like some of her other songs do. She is belting her absolute heart out in the last chorus, though.

12. Look What You Made Me Do

reputation (2017)

The 2017 album ​​​​​​reputation is still Swift’s most derisive project, with both longtime fans and outsiders wondering what led to such a distinct genre change from 2014’s synth-pop-infused 1989. In the years following its release, it’s easier to uncover the moments that led to such dramatic, over-the-top tracks like “…Ready For It?” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” but “Look What You Made Me Do” was the pin drop heard around the world that set the stage for the album as a whole.

On its own, “Look What You Made Me Do” almost feels like a historical artifact, capturing such a specific moment in time in Swift’s personal life and career that we’ve only seen since in “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” off of The Tortured Poets Department. As the first single off of reputation, it’s perfect. The shock of such an over-the-top track coming from the music industry’s country-turned-pop girl next door is nothing short of iconic, but it slips to the wayside in comparison to the other tracks on the album.

11. Blank Space

1989 (2014)

The second single off of 1989 follows the path paved by “Shake It Off.” Lyrically discussing her dating life once again, Swift completely embodies the trope of the boy-crazy toxic girlfriend, claiming “boys only want love if it’s torture” and that each guy she’s with is just another name to cross off of her list. Its accompanying music video is the perfect visual representation of that character. Viewers watch as Swift tosses burning pieces of the guy’s clothing off her balcony and hits his car with a golf club, losing herself in a role many believe is her reality.

With how successful the music video and the album were, it’s no surprise that this song has accumulated over 1 billion streams. It’s the second, but not the last, 1989 track on this list, and not one of the album’s strongest tracks overall. The thematic elements weaved into Swift’s personal experience as a public figure who is ridiculed daily for her dating life are incredibly smart, and the song does a clever job of getting those ideas across to listeners. Unfortunately, it’s overshadowed by the tracks that remain.

10. Style

1989 (2014)

Clearly, 1989 is a bit of a fan favorite. “Style,” heavily hinted by its title to be about Harry Styles, is a hypnotizing song about the whirlwind effects of a love affair that straddles the line between obsessive and passionate. With a backing beat that calls for a walk down the Eras tour runway, it’s another one of the strong singles off an album that proved Swift’s pop music chops.

This song does an impressive job of conveying the push and pull that goes into a high-stakes relationship, describing both the aspects of her partner that keep her coming back and the forces that threaten to pull them apart. Additionally, the production pairs perfectly with her vocals, especially in the last chorus, creating an atmosphere that feels larger than just one song. While it creeps just above two of its 1989 counterparts, “Style” isn’t the album’s strongest track on this list.

9. You Need To Calm Down

Lover (2019)

One of three pre-release singles off of Lover, “You Need To Calm Down” is one of Swift’s most culturally charged songs. She directly speaks against internet trolls and online negativity while also pledging her support for the LGBTQ+ community. By urging those speaking out against marginalized communities and other women in the industry like herself to calm down, she’s practically using this song to kill them with kindness. She suggests that if they took a few seconds to take a deep breath and look at the world around them, they might realize how futile their handmade protest signs are.

Given the wider elements of love in all its forms throughout the album, “You Need To Calm Down” is a unique addition. It places love of those different from us and the denouncement of hate on an even level with friendship and romance, something that isn’t unique in the wider musical world but is rare within Swift’s discography.

8. Delicate

reputation (2017)

Compared to “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Delicate” feels like a representation of reputation‘s true nature. On the outside, it’s a powerful album where Swift plays with production and pop music in different ways to hit back at those who beat her down through the years. At its core, however, reputation is an album about love. While not being as obvious as naming an album Lover, Swift describes her then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn in vivid, flattering detail on tracks like “Call It What You Want” and “Dress.”

“Delicate” feels like a representation of reputation‘s true nature.

“Delicate” is an ode to the hesitation that comes with falling in love again. Swift’s relationship with Alwyn would go on to last until at least the beginning of her Eras Tour, making it her longest public relationship. Although that relationship has ended, it’s beautiful to have an album that captures the start of it all and that a track like this is one of her most streamed songs. It’s the least streamed out of this list’s three reputation entries, but holds strong within our top 10.

7. Anti-Hero

Midnights (2022)

After being released just over two years ago, Midnights sees its lead single as one of Swift’s most streamed songs. On an album as thematically personal as Midnights, “Anti-Hero” is the perfect single to invite listeners in. Each track touches on a different late-night thought that keeps her up (past relationships, pop culture scandals, and high and low moments within her then-current relationship). “Anti-Hero” is one of the most personal tracks, tackling her own self-doubt and naming herself as the problem within her life and the lives of those around her.

“Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby

And I’m a monster on the hill

Too big to hang out, slowly lurching towards your favorite city

Pierced through the heart but never killed”

As the lead single, it makes perfect sense that “Anti-Hero”is the most streamed song off Midnights. Swift confronts her age as she looks at up-and-coming pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter, a recurring thought that her lover will leave her, and a dream where her future daughter-in-law kills her for her money. Its catchy chorus and upbeat production might have a more distant listener thinking there’s nothing too dark about the song, but even the smallest closer look presents us with an insecurity that must be a sort of rite of passage for any female celebrity.

6. Don’t Blame Me

reputation (2017)

There are certain tracks on each Swift album that stand out vocally. “Don’t Blame Me” feels like a clear pick for this collection off of reputation, which displays her powerful voice among a dazzling ensemble of harmonies and punchy synths. The live version is iconic among fans, with the version played on her 2018 stadium tour and the Eras Tour both being described as almost religious experiences. Describing a love that is so strong it makes you feel crazy, Swift suggests that an addictive quality exists within her lover, once again toeing the line between pure passion and toxicity.

“Don’t Blame Me” is one of the most impressive tracks on reputation, both in terms of production and overall quality. It’s a song that was made to be played in sold-out stadiums. Swift’s ability to make a love song sound so haunting yet so enchanting is one of the reasons fans keep coming back to this track specifically. It just nearly breaks the top five, but it isn’t far off.

5. Wildest Dreams

1989 (2014)

“Wildest Dreams” might not be the first track you think of from 1989, but it’s one of the most gorgeous love songs Swift has made so far. The beating pulse in the background only adds to the classic beauty of Swift’s voice among an instrumental that seems to be closing in on her as the song goes on. She’s in the middle of a love affair that feels too good to be true, and she needs her lover to reassure her that, even if it ends, he’ll still see her in his dreams.

Production-wise, 1989 jumps between synth-pop tracks like “New Romantics” and sweeping atmospheres created by tracks like “Clean” and “You Are In Love.” In my opinion, “Wildest Dreams” falls into the latter category, drawing listeners in with its imagery. It’s a slight departure from the elements that make “Blank Space” or “Shake It Off” so catchy, but a departure that sets itself in its own league within Swift’s wider discography.

4. cardigan

folklore (2020)

2020’s folklore is Swift’s most recent experimentation with a new sound. Her scaled-back production pushes her poetic lyrics to the forefront of this album. It’s also a departure from Swift’s tendency to base songs on her own experiences; instead, she uses the time spent in quarantine imagining a life spent in a cabin in the woods, creating characters in her head and writing their lives out for everyone to hear. “cardigan” is part of a trilogy within folklore, also including “august” and “betty,” which follow a high school love triangle.

“‘Cause I knew you

Steppin’ on the last train

Marked me like a bloodstain, I

I knew you

Tried to change the ending

Peter losing Wendy, I”

Told from the perspective of the fictional character Betty, “cardigan” feels much deeper than its fictionalized world. The lyrics describe the feeling of being dismissed when you’re young by those older than you who claim you still have so much to learn. They follow a young girl who might not know everything about the world around her, but who thought she knew the boy she fell in love with. Swift is easily at her best lyrically on folklore, and the success of this song only proves that.

3. Lover

Lover (2019)

If there’s one thing Swift’s music is known for to a casual listener, it’s probably her love songs. From teenage crushes to deep infatuation, her catalog has led listeners through an entire lifetime of love. Lover is the album that sees Swift hit that nail right on the head.

Many popular artists have created songs that are immediately seen as perfect first dance songs; take “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran as an example. “Lover” by Swift is easily one of the most danced-to songs for newly wedded couples released in the 21st century. Her swoon-worthy instrumental practically invites the listener to grab the person closest to them and start swaying. This track feels like an easy argument to make for Swift’s most romantic song she’s released so far. If you haven’t thought about dancing with your future partner to this song, you’re lying.

2. august

folklore (2020)

Another part of folklore‘s sonic trilogy, “august” follows the so-called “other woman” within the love triangle who holds the boy’s heart for the summer, but loses him once the season ends. It’s a heartbreaking song that leaves the listener asking many of the same questions as its protagonist. Will he call when they’re back at school? Does he remember the summer they spent together?

“august” is an impressive song within folklore itself, but also within Swift’s entire discography. She uses tropes that could very well hold personal relevance for her, and ties them to characters born from her artistic mind. It’s a realistic love story that fits into the world of any romantic comedy. It’s also the second most streamed song on the album, which speaks for itself.

1. Cruel Summer

Lover (2019)

The success of “Cruel Summer” cannot be downplayed. Lover was released in 2019 alongside five singles, all of which were released between April 2019 and January 2020 except one. Upon the release of the album, “Cruel Summer” became a quick fan favorite, so much so that fans practically begged Swift to make it a single in the hopes of receiving a music video and its own promotional run. It wasn’t until four years later that fans would see part of their wish come true.

“Cruel Summer” was released as a single in June 2023. It never got its own music video, but it gained so much traction that it rose to number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and became Taylor Swift’s most streamed song on Spotify. The song’s production and dramatic lyrical delivery speak for themselves, guiding listeners along a love affair filled with sneaking into gardens and taking chances in the hopes of making it work. Its bridge is one of the best Taylor Swift has ever written, with the excitement of Lover finally getting its time to shine boiling over during its dedicated section on the Eras Tour.